Cristiano Ronaldo has lost a staggering number of followers since leaving Manchester United, new analysis shows.
In December the five-time Ballon d’Or winner signed for Saudi Professional League club Al-Nassr on a two-and-a-half year deal reportedly worth £162million a year once commercial agreements are included.
The move came about after Ronaldo acrimoniously left United by mutual consent, with his departure triggered by an interview in which he was deeply critical of the club, its manager Erik ten Hag, and its owners, the Glazers.
Ronaldo said he turned down other offers from different teams around the world to sign for Al-Nassr.
While many view the move as a step-down, the 37-year-old said: “I’m so proud to make this big decision in my life. In Europe, my work is done. I won everything and played for the most important clubs in Europe. This is a new challenge,”
Ronaldo has lost millions of followers
Ronaldo is the most followed person on Instagram, with over 536million followers at the time of writing. Meanwhile, he has 107.3million Twitter followers and a further 160million followers on Facebook.
However, new analysis by CLV Group has revealed that Ronaldo has lost almost five million social media followers since moving to Al-Nassr.
Indeed, most of the decline in Ronaldo’s followers came from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries.
Some 600,000 people unfollowed Ronaldo in Brazil, while a further 323,000 unfollowed him in Mexico and 292,673 did the same in Colombia.
Overall the study claims that Ronaldo’s social reach fell by 4.5 per cent after the Al-Nassr move.
CLV Co-founder and Chief Executive Neil Joyce explained: “The data tells us that the people tuning out of Ronaldo’s socials are typically not hard-core football fans.
“Instead, they are more likely to be interested in profiles that create celebrity gossip, reality TV, fashion and lifestyle content.
“What’s actually happening here is that, for these people, Ronaldo’s move is taking him out of the centre of these worlds and making him less relevant to what they’re interested in. The flipside to that is that his remaining followers are more likely to be football-centric.
“That makes it even more important that he remains a success in the game if he’s to keep up his commercial reach.”
Despite the controversial manner Ronaldo left United, CLV Group claim only six per cent of those who unfollowed him are United fans.
His social clout is actually said to have increased among supporters of the Old Trafford club, rising from 17.6 per cent to 18.2 per cent.
Ronaldo is yet to have made his Al-Nassr debut, having arrived at the Saudi club with a two-game suspension over his head following an incident in United’s Premier League match against Everton last April.
However, he will make his first appearance since moving to the Gulf nation for an all-star XI today at 5pm, in a one-off friendly against Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain.
Man United face having to pay £100m to sign Cristiano Ronaldo replacement
Man United have their eye on two targets
Manchester United are eyeing up their replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo but could face having to pay £100m + to land one of the two targets.
Victor Osimhen of Napoli and Gonçalo Ramos of Benfica are the two names in question that Erik ten Hag is looking at to bolster his attacking line.
United are lacking in the forward department following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in November and recently signed Wout Weghorst on loan from Burnley, after they agreed with Beşiktaş – where he was already on loan – to terminate his deal.
Osimhen has been in impressive form for Napoli – scoring 12 goals this season – as they continue their pursuit of winning a first Serie A title since 1990. Napoli are nine points clear at the top of the table.
Italian newspaper Il Mattino have claimed that Osimhen will only decide where his future lies at the end go the season but are could demand as much as £130m for the Nigerian international.
The Red Devils’ other option, Ramos, first came into the limelight after scoring a hat trick on his first start for Portugal in their World Cup round of 16 win against Switzerland.
Ramos started ahead of Ronaldo of all people in that game and has been closely watched by other Premier League clubs, which includes Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
His current deal runs until 2025 but O Jogo have reported that Benfica are keen to tie him down to a new contract and increase his release clause, which currently stands at £105m.
He currently has 17 goals in 26 appearances for the Portuguese side this season.
Source: sportbible.com; sportsjoe.ie
